The Fire Hunter – Season 2 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Lady Goddess

Episode 9 of The Fire Hunter Season 2 begins where we left off in the previous episode with a fallbeast appearing in front of Touko and Kanata. Touko’s unsure why the fallbeast arrived here. While Koushi and the others observe this phenomenon, Akira believes the fallbeast wants Touko to hunt it. 

Also, Akira says this fallbeast sensed something was amiss at the divine palace. Therefore, it’s here to put a stop to all the pain it sensed at this location. Suddenly, Mizore and Temari rush into the whirlpool where Touko, Kanata, and the fallbeast are present. Temari, Kanata, and Mizore start attacking the fallbeast. 

While the dogs have the fallbeast in their grasp, Touko uses her sickle to behead it. Everyone is stunned by Touko’s achievement, including the gods. Hibari questions if Touko is the true lord of the fire hunters. The Flickering Flame turns to Akira and asks her if she’ll use her sickle to hunt her. 

Akira says she doesn’t plan to hunt the Flickering Flame until she leaves Kira’s body. The Flickering Flame says she can’t leave Kira’s body yet. She tells Akira if she hunts her, all this madness will cease. After the Flickering Flame discusses matters further with our cast, something strikes the divine palace nearby. 

Hibari asks Touko to follow him because Tayurahime would like to see her. Akira questions Hibari’s claim since she believes the girl Yuoshichi had in his hands, episodes ago, was Tayurahime. Hibari tells Akira that Tayurahime is a substitute and that the real Tayurahime resides in the palace shrine. 

After the ground ruptures below everyone’s feet, we shift to a flashback involving Touko and two women from the village she grew up in. Suddenly, Touko spots Temari nearby, and we learn this isn’t a flashback. It’s some sort of dream-like scenario. Touko finds herself in a strange environment. She’s holding Temari in one hand, Kanata’s resting next to her, and Hibari’s standing in front of her. 

Hibari tells Touko that Mizore perished during the ground rupture incident. Touko questions what happened to Koushi, Akira, and the others. Hibari speculates Ruri assisted them. Touko notices several godly individuals are sleeping in these silk-like cocoons. Hibari explains what’s happening to those individuals as they rest inside those specific barriers. 

He tells Touko Tayurahime wants to question Touko about something. Touko wakes up in a strange environment. She notices Akira, Koushi, and the others nearby. Kiri greets Touko and tells her Ruri brought her and the others here. Kiri tells them that this place was a former experimental ground the gods hid from humanity.  

Touko stumbles upon several tubes. Koushi tells her not to touch them. Upon closer inspection, he and the others realize there are human babies inside the tubes. Kiri tells them that these are failed treefolk experiments. Koushi refutes Kiri’s claim and believes these are baby deities instead. 

Koushi wonders if the divine clans are hiding something from everyone. He believes they’re altering humans and referring to them as gods. Koushi notices Akira’s missing and Kiri says she left moments ago. Kiri offers to watch Kun and Hinako. In the meantime, she tells Koushi he should go after Akira.

Koushi tells Touko that Akira was thinking about using the tube-like pathway near the glowing fish to reach the real palace where Tayurahime is. Touko, Koushi, and Kanata follow the tube-like pathway, leaving Kun and Hinako in Kiri’s care. While venturing with Touko and Kanata, Koushi realizes the divine clans need humans to sustain themselves. 

Moreover, he believes the glow fish are organic mechanisms. He says their purpose is to collect fiend fire from factories and deliver the purified residue to the palace basement. By burning this purified fire, Tayurahime can exceed her natural lifespan. The episode closes with Akira confronting someone and their canine.

The Episode Review

It appears Signal.MD Studios stepped their visual game up with this week’s chapter of The Fire Hunter. While the animation wasn’t smooth, the still shots of Touko and the fallbeast were marvelous to the eye. If only the entire series replicated the quality levels shown during those moments. This episode was a bit slow-paced, too. 

While the information shared in this chapter will intrigue audiences, it’d be great if the series had simplified matters for a wider audience. Both seasons could’ve benefitted from this, making it an engaging and enjoyable experience for everyone. Nevertheless, those who adore mysterious anime with vague descriptions will find this chapter appealing. 

Coupled with some interesting reveals, this is one of the best episodes to come out of The Fire Hunter (so far). I’m interested to see how this tale’s events will unfold in episode 10.